After working with FMCG brands for 25 years, Task by Kirk General Manager John Kapiniaris has seen it all. He shares his insights on how to avoid the biggest packaging pitfalls.
What is the impact for brands when new packaging designs don’t resonate with consumers?
Research shows 70 per cent of purchasing decisions are made in store, with product packaging accounting for more than one third of the consumer’s decision-making process. Get it right and the rewards are plenty; but get it wrong and the fallout can be considerable.
Heinz is facing a fine of up to $1.1 million after being found guilty by the Federal Court of misleading health messaging on its Little Kids Shredz product packaging, not to mention the costs associated with pulling the product from sale after the initial complaint in 2016.
When packaging goes wrong, what can brands do to minimise fallout?
Correcting mistakes must be swift in order to maintain market share, repair a damaged reputation and minimise time off the supermarket shelf.
Brands can ensure fast delivery of new packaging by fixing the issues that cause delays. Two of the most common issues are:
Suppliers don’t have the right technical resource for the fast turnarounds required to meet tight deadlines. We recommend using a specialist design execution agency that has the necessary resources to speed up any step of the design-to-print process, from rollout to prepress to proofing.
Time wasted with endless rounds of changes needed to correct mistakes before printing. Work with a specialist supplier that has the print knowledge and technical design skills to create artwork that is print ready and colour accurate the first time.
How do brands improve the quality and consistency of their packaging?
All too often, the quality of the finished printed packaging does not reflect the original brand vision. It is common to see colour inconsistencies across the packaging of a product range, particularly when multiple printers are used. Any small variation in colour or design is amplified on the supermarket shelf and will negatively impact shelf appeal and sales.
The easiest way to improve print quality is to involve design execution partners early in the master design stage so they can advise suitability for printing and suggest alternatives before designs are finalised. They will also recommend the most suitable printing method for the best results.
Consistency across a product range can be achieved by customising each artwork file to the print press it’s printed on. Every press prints differently. It’s important to use a technical designer who collects the unique print press specifications from each printer and builds every artwork file accordingly.
How can brands reduce packaging costs and avoid budget blowouts?
Many brands end up spending more on packaging than they need to, money that could be better spent on marketing and promotional initiatives.
Inefficiencies in the design-to-print process rack up the costs. The more suppliers and touchpoints involved in getting a design printed, the greater the chance of costly duplication of steps and errors along the way, not to mention high agency fees to fix the mistakes. Before you know it, the budget has blown out by tens of thousands of dollars, and the product is still not on the shelf.
Brands can halve the cost and time taken to get products onto the shelf just by having a single design execution supplier take responsibility for transforming brand designs into colour-accurate print-ready files.
John Kapiniaris is the General Manager of specialist design execution agency Task by Kirk. John has worked in the FMCG packaging and printing industry for more than 25 years helping brands achieve excellence in packaging, significantly reduce costs and optimise supply chain processes.
www.taskbykirk.com.au